Late Han Zhao Tang

July 7th, sunny and rainless.

Wu Jing, who had arrived at Jiange as Sun Quan's envoy, along with Sun Yu and several attendants, carrying maps of the various counties of Yizhou, household registers and books, and holding a white banner, went out of the city to the Tang army camp to surrender.

Upon learning of the surrender of the Shu people, Xu Huang was overjoyed and personally went out of his tent to greet them.

"I pay my respects to General Xu. Your might shakes the world, your military prowess is divine, the people of Shu revere you, and the old and weak tremble with fear. Now our army is doomed, and I, Jing, am surrendering to the Tang Dynasty on the orders of Lord Sun. I hope the General will accept me!" Wu Jing flattered.

Xu Huang led Wu Jing into the tent and asked with a smile, "I heard that you used to live in Langzhong. Why have you come to Jiange to see me?"

Wu Jing truthfully replied, "General, you are the commander-in-chief of the southern expedition, and your official rank and title are all above those of the Manchu governor. It is unreasonable for you not to surrender to the general!"

Xu Huang saw through Wu Jing's thoughts, laughed a few times, and said, "Sir, you intend to put me in an unjust position!"

"Don't dare!"

Wu Jing respectfully said, "General, you have the authority to command all the generals and the duty to appease those who have surrendered. Therefore, I have come to Jiange with my men to surrender!"

Xu Huang had no intention of dwelling on the minor issue. He composed himself and asked directly, "Where are the household registration books now?"

"here!"

Wu Jing took the books from his left and right hands and presented them to them, saying, "Yizhou has nineteen prefectures and one hundred and twenty-five counties, with two hundred thousand households, a population of nine hundred thousand, ninety-four thousand armored soldiers, and twenty-three thousand officials. The granaries contain more than six hundred thousand shi of rice, five thousand jin each of gold and silver, and one hundred and fifty thousand bolts each of brocade and colored silk."

Xu Huang perused the household registers and said to his attendants, “When I followed Your Majesty in conquering the world, apart from Ji Province, Yi Province was the richest. No wonder Sun Wentai conquered Shu and then fought against Yuan Shu. When Sun Ce was alive, he fought in the south and north, and the soldiers and civilians had no peace year after year. If Your Majesty knew that Yi Province was rich, you would surely be pleased.”

Sichuan suffered the least from war, and its isolated location made it difficult to transport resources outwards, resulting in abundant wealth and provisions within the region. Despite the Sun family's three generations of excessive military spending, Sichuan was still considered prosperous compared to other prefectures and counties of the time.

Now that China has just achieved peace, the prefectures and counties are in dire need of reconstruction, and the central government has a considerable need for revenue. Therefore, the surrender of Yizhou has two major benefits for the Tang Dynasty. First, the Yangtze River is no longer a natural barrier, and the Tang Dynasty shares the Yangtze River with the Han Dynasty, and also has the advantage of the upper reaches; second, Yizhou has a population of one million, which can greatly enrich the national treasury.

Seeing that Xu Huang was in a good mood, Wu Jing respectfully said, "My lord has sincerely surrendered. I wonder if the general could grant him an official title and reward!"

Xu Huang closed the map and pondered, saying, "I already know of your intention to surrender, sir. However, I cannot easily bestow titles upon you."

Seeing this, Wu Jing advised, "In the past, when Deng Yu conquered Guanzhong, he received the order of Emperor Guangwu to carry out royal decrees and bestow titles. Now that you, General, hold the imperial insignia and command all the generals, why not follow the example of Deng Yu and bestow titles and ranks upon our lord and the generals of Shu, so as to appease the hearts of the surrendered people of Shu? Now that the people of Shu want to surrender, we fear they will encounter the likes of Wu Han. Therefore, General, you should first appease them!"

When Liu Xiu proclaimed himself emperor in Hebei, he appointed Deng Yu to act as regent, tasking him with suppressing bandits in Bingzhou and Guanzhong. Deng Yu was also responsible for deciding matters of bestowing titles and rewards. Therefore, following Deng Yu's example, Xu Huang was allowed to directly bestow titles. However, to give Xu Huang a legitimate reason to bestow titles, Wu Jing cited Wu Han's massacre of Chengdu as a negative example.

"Sir, your words are not correct."

Xu Huang was quite tempted and was about to agree to Wu Jing's request when he saw Tian Feng frantically winking at him. He then realized that he could not give in lightly and changed his mind, saying, "The bestowal of titles and rewards is a matter of national importance. Please allow me to think it over carefully. I have already ordered a banquet to be prepared. You may take your leave and rest for now."

"promise!"

Seeing that Xu Huang did not budge, Wu Jing was slightly disappointed and said, "The people of Shu yearn for peace and hope that the general will provide relief as soon as possible."

As Wu Jing hurried away from the tent, Xu Huang asked in confusion, "Now that Shu wants to surrender, should we, like Deng Yu, temporarily offer him relief? Does Lord Tian think this is inappropriate?"

Tian Feng said, “General, you wish to conquer Shu for the country as soon as possible, but you must be aware of the advantages and disadvantages. Although His Majesty has granted you the imperial insignia, he has not authorized you to perform royal duties. The story of Deng Yu, however, shows that he had the authority to perform royal duties. How can you compare yourself to Deng Yu?”

Upon hearing this, Xu Huang frowned slightly and said, "Sir, you said His Majesty might blame me for bestowing official titles without authorization?"

"Given His Majesty's temperament, how could he possibly blame the general? But I fear there might be dissenting voices in the court, leading to his impeachment of the general," Tian Feng said. "The general's achievements are outstanding; if we were to bestow official titles upon him without due humility, it would surely arouse suspicion!"

Xu Huang stroked his beard and pondered, then said, "Now that the people of Shu are begging to surrender, what should we do?"

After a moment's thought, Tian Feng said, "When His Majesty first considered attacking Shu, he appointed Man Chong as the Governor of Yizhou and entrusted him with the position of Commander-in-Chief. After several months, His Majesty changed the edict, appointing you, General, as Commander-in-Chief, but Man Chong still concurrently holds the position of Governor of Yizhou." "Therefore, in my opinion, General, you should temporarily postpone the matter of the Shu people's surrender, invite Man Chong to Jiange, and work together to accept their surrender. Also, send a fast horse to inform His Majesty and inquire about the matter of bestowing official titles and ranks."

"Upon the fall of Shu, the general stationed troops at Jiange and Langzhong, controlling the vital passage between Sichuan and Shu, and overseeing the surrendered soldiers of Shu. Man Chong was appointed to govern Chengdu, separating military and political affairs to avoid criticism from the court, and to await His Majesty's instructions."

Xu Huang frowned and said, "If we don't reach Chengdu, I'm afraid the soldiers and officers will be dissatisfied."

"What our soldiers value most is not Chengdu, but the reward they will receive so they can return to their hometowns," Tian Feng said. "His Majesty knows that you will not enter Shu, so how could he not reward you and your troops first!"

Then, Tian Feng asked meaningfully, "What are your thoughts, General?"

Xu Huang, with a clear conscience, said, "I was ordered to conquer Shu. If Shu submits now, my fate is sealed. What does the prosperity or decline of Chengdu have to do with me?"

With that, Xu Huang cupped his hands in thanks to Tian Feng and said, "Thank you for the reminder, sir!"

"Don't dare!"

Accepting surrender may seem simple, but it is actually quite complex. Xu Huang, who commanded a large army and arbitrarily bestowed official titles and ranks, was easily suspected of harboring rebellious intentions. In particular, many of the elite troops from Guanzhong were in Xu Huang's army, and with the addition of surrendered Shu soldiers, Xu Huang's forces could swell to over 100,000. Coupled with the natural defenses of Shu, he essentially had the foundation to establish a separatist regime.

Therefore, when attacking Ba and Shu, multiple commanders often led their troops in a coordinated manner, firstly to disperse the enemy's forces, and secondly to check and balance each other. Moreover, many generals who were relatives of the emperor were sent on southern expeditions to ensure that generals of different surnames would not harbor ambitions.

Why was Deng Ai so easily framed by Zhong Hui in history?

The main reason was that Deng Ai was arrogant and, without informing Zhong Hui, bypassed him and claimed to be like Deng Yu, lavishly bestowing official titles and ranks. This aroused the dissatisfaction of many officers whose interests were harmed, and also made Sima Zhao wary. Therefore, after Zhong Hui made a slight accusation, Deng Ai was imprisoned by Sima Zhao!
If Xu Huang were to appoint officials without authorization, not only would Zhang Yu be wary, but those in the court who were jealous of Xu Huang's achievements would seize the opportunity to attack him. Although Tian Feng was upright, he also knew how dangerous people could be, which is why he advised Xu Huang not to act arbitrarily, so that he could retire unscathed after achieving merit.

Tian Feng laughed and said, "Although you cannot enter Chengdu, General, you might as well take this opportunity to submit a memorial to His Majesty, discussing the military affairs in Shu and advising His Majesty to attack Wu. His Majesty cherishes your achievements, and if he launches an attack on Wu, you will surely be among those honored!"

Xu Huang was overjoyed and said, "I will never forget your guidance, Mr. Tian!"

"You're welcome!"

The phrase "his achievements overshadowed his lord" might be unknown to other generals, but Xu Huang certainly dared not be unaware of it.

Compared to Li Song and Zhang Liao, who were almost family generals, Xu Huang, who surrendered as a bandit, was a trusted general of Zhang Yu, but he was still inferior to Li and Zhang.

Especially before the expedition, His Majesty addressed him as Zhou Yafu, which made him feel both honored and unlucky. After all, Zhou Yafu's death was related to his arrogant and self-important nature. Therefore, Xu Huang believed that after this conquest of Shu, His Majesty would not use him to attack Wu again.

As for why?

Observing His Majesty's habits of employing people, one can see that Zhang Liao rescued Youzhou in the north, beheaded Tadun, and killed Gongsun, his power shook the northern frontier, and the world knew the name of Zhang Liao.

Therefore, after defeating Yuan Shao, Zhang Liao rarely led troops alone. The campaigns against Yuan Xi and Yuan Shang were led by Li Song and Man Chong. It was only when Yuan Shu was defeated that Zhang Liao was stationed in Yuzhou to prepare for the campaign against Wu.

Therefore, all discerning people in the court know that if His Majesty does not personally lead the campaign against Wu, then Zhang Liao will undoubtedly be the commander-in-chief. After all, Zhang Liao has been sidelined for some time, and he cannot remain sidelined indefinitely.

Zhang Yu's initial decision to appoint Man Chong to lead the campaign against Shu, followed by his sudden change of heart and use of Xu Huang instead, was not without reason. While Xu Huang did have experience in rescuing Hanzhong, more importantly, Man Chong had just distinguished himself by independently commanding troops to pacify Qingzhou. Therefore, to avoid over-reliance on a single general, Zhang Yu recalled Xu Huang, making Man Chong his deputy, and launched the campaign against Ba and Shu.

Therefore, based on the pattern, Xu Huang basically guessed that the campaign against Shu would most likely be his last. Now, according to Tian Feng's words, Xu Huang might continue to attack Wu, while Man Chong would probably be unable to participate in the campaign against Wu.

Following Tian Feng's suggestion, Xu Huang postponed Wu Jing's surrender by ten days so that Man Chong could receive the investiture together with him.

When Man Chong saw Xu Huang's invitation, his resentment towards Sun Quan for betraying him and joining Xu Huang vanished. He then made military arrangements, detoured south from Jiameng, and accepted the surrender of Wu Jing and Sun Quan at Jiange.

At that time, Xu Kun and Sun He surrendered, Xu Huang's troops entered Jiange, and Man Chong's subordinates entered Langzhong, respectively controlling the surrendered people in the two places. Then, while reorganizing their troops and resting, they awaited further imperial edicts. (End of this chapter)